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Sunday, November 25, 2012

Atomic Summer by Elaine D Walsh @ElaineDWalsh

THREE friends, TWO secrets, ONE lie, and the summer that changed their lives.

"Captivating", "Unique", "A Page Turner", "Must Read", "Put this at the TOP of your list"

"5-star reviews"

The
world is ripe for destruction in 1953. The Korean War drags on and the
Rosenbergs are executed as spies. Senator Joseph McCarthy convinces
the country communists are infiltrating the government, and the threat
of nuclear war festered in the collective consciousness of the nation.

While
the nation worries about communist bombs, sixteen-year-old Bernadette
Vaughn holds court in the family bomb shelter, finagling a way to read
Kinsey’s groundbreaking work on human sexuality. She obsesses about
boys and big city life. Her best friend, Faith McNulty is a devout
Catholic who dreams of staying in their small town, marrying Allen
Hanlon, and raising a family. Their awkward and unattractive friend,
Octavia Mansfield doesn’t have room in her life for boys, dreams, or
God. She spends most of her young life caring for her severely disabled
brother.

Their conversations about what each of them would do if
the end of the world were imminent become the catalyst for a prank that
spins wildly beyond control and draws in an entire town.

Left
behind in the wake of that summer’s events are their unrealized dreams
and open wounds. In 1973, a reunion trip to the small town of their
youth returns them to the summer of 1953 and the passion and betrayal
that changed their lives.